Under the pretext of conserving the national network of motorways and State roads, reducing pollution and hydrocarbons, the Government agreed with Brussels to introduce a payment system on Spanish roads in exchange for receiving a large amount of subsidies from the funds European Next. This agreement forced the Executive to carry out its promise by 2024.
Last August, alarm bells went off when it emerged that the General Directorate of Roads, under the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, had commissioned the public consultant Ineco to prepare nine reports that would allow the assessment of a highway financing system.
The preparation of these reports will cost 1,4 million euros. For this, the consultancy, in turn, has contracted the services of KPMG Abogados, who will be in charge of the specialized legal advice and consultancy service in tax and tax matters in the field of roads, according to Europa Press reports.
No clear plans
Despite these events, the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, stated that the plans to restore payment for the use of the State road network had not been resumed. However, the step with Ineco had already been taken and the Recovery and Resilience Plan that contemplates the measure shows that, indeed, it could be from 2024 when the tolls will be implemented again.
However, in general, everything is unknown. It is not known exactly which roads will be affected by the new tolls, nor what will be the payment system that users will have to deal with. Specifically, the AP-7 that affects the citizens of the Marina Alta, had been released since 2020 and now they are again in the position of having to pay again to use it four years later.
This week, the minister has stated that the budgets presented for 2023 do not provide for payment for the use of highways, although she has confirmed that she is analyzing various alternatives. She could be referring to the fact that these nine reports belong to the first of the three phases of the pay-per-use project.
The next phase would be the design of the solution to be adopted and the third would involve resorting to the necessary services to tender the implementation of the collection system.
Posible métodos de pago
Since the news of the contract with the consultancy became known, various options have been discussed that the government could consider to pay for the use of the roads once the system is implemented. In addition to the reports commissioned from Ineco, they will analyze which would be the most suitable system for the country.
So, for the time being, the charge per vignette could be considered, with which a fixed annual amount would be paid to be able to travel on the roads, or the payment for use, the best known until now and whose price depends on the distance traveled on the way. Regarding which roads will be affected, another of the studies that the Executive must order is whether to apply the measure on state highways, regional ones or all of them.
This decision is inadmissible and will be NEGATIF pour la bonne relation avec les utilisateurs et aussi tous
the touristes qui font vivre l, Spain
The answer is simple: When the Municipal and Regional elections are over
Paying again for highways seems like an armed robbery to me, since we Spaniards have repaid them for many years. Yes, it would be good if all resident foreigners who do not pay their taxes were controlled more and paid for all the services that are given to them.
Yeah, I don't pay taxes, funny. I pay taxes on the house, on garbage, on water, on sewage, on electricity, on purchases, in restaurants, etc. Imagine that there are taxes on the bills for all this.
Don't be upset. Jose was referring only to those resident foreigners who do NOT pay taxes, and I'm afraid there are plenty who do not sign on the Padron or change their driving licences, let alone pay tax. Most of us DO pay tax here, even on our pensions and interest on our savings, apart from all the things you mentioned.